Brian Robert Jackson (born October 11, 1952) is an American

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical ins ...

flautist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, singer, composer, and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

known for his collaborations with

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician ...

in the 1970s. The sound of Jackson's

Rhodes electric piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

and flute accompaniments featured prominently in many of their compositions, most notably on "

The Bottle "The Bottle" is a song by American soul artist Gil Scott-Heron and musician Brian Jackson, released in 1974 on Strata-East Records in the United States. It was later reissued during the mid-1980s on Champagne Records in the United Kingdom. "The ...

" and "Your Daddy Loves You" from their first official collaboration ''

Winter in America ''Winter in America'' is a studio album by American vocalist Gil Scott-Heron and keyboardist Brian Jackson. It was recorded in September to October 1973 at D&B Sound Studio in Silver Spring, Maryland and released in May 1974 by Strata-East Rec ...

''.

Early life

Jackson was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States, to Clarence and Elsie Jackson, respectively a New York State parole officer and a librarian at the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the dea ...

. He spent the first two years of his life in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, later sharing a house in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn with his uncle Howard, wife Dorothy and young cousin Sidney until his parents separated by the time he was five. Unable to take on the responsibility of sharing mortgage payments alone, Elsie was forced to move to a one-bedroom apartment in

Crown Heights, Brooklyn Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Empire Boulevard/East New Yo ...

until she remarried in 1968. Jackson studied music in

Fort Greene Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the wes ...

with his mother's childhood teacher, Hepzibah Ross (fondly called 'Aunt Heppie') with whom he took lessons for seven years. When Elsie was unable to continue payments for lessons, Aunt Heppie granted him a scholarship, simply stating that Jackson showed 'great promise.' His mother later married Alvin S.Lovell a General Practitioner from Bedford Stuyvesant who often donated his services to uninsured residents of the community. In 1968, their daughter and Brian's sister, Alison Lovell, was born. From 1965 until 1969, Jackson attended Brooklyn's

Erasmus Hall High School Erasmus Hall High School was a four-year public high school located at 899–925 Flatbush Avenue between Church and Snyder Avenues in the Flatbush neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It was founded in 1786 as Erasmus Hall Aca ...

, where he met other musicians and began to form bands on the outside while participating in school music programs.

Career

Jackson met

while the two were attending

Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) Lincoln University (LU) is a public state-related historically black university (HBCU) near Oxford, Pennsylvania. Founded as the private Ashmun Institute in 1854, it has been a public institution since 1972 and was the United States' first ...

. They began a decade-long writing, producing, and recording partnership. Jackson composed most of the music that he and Scott-Heron together performed and recorded. In 1971, the two released their first album together, ''

Pieces of a Man ''Pieces of a Man'' is the debut studio album by American poet Gil Scott-Heron. It was recorded in April 1971 at RCA Studios in New York City and released later that year by Flying Dutchman Records. The album followed Scott-Heron's debut live al ...

'', with

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded n ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

. Other notable albums include ''

Free Will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to a ...

'' (1972) and ''

'' (1974), which was the first to have Jackson receive co-billing, and which was later described by Barney Hoskyns in ''

UNCUT Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' as "a masterwork of ghetto melancholia and stark political gravitas". His biggest hit was with Scott-Heron, 1974's "

". By 1979, they had recorded ten albums, with other unreleased material surfacing on subsequent Scott-Heron releases following their 1980 split. Jackson continued to be active in the 1980s and 1990s, working with

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million r ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, sou ...

Will Downing Wilfred "Will" Downing (born November 29, 1963) is an American singer and songwriter. He is married to singer Audrey Wheeler, who was a member of the R&B group Unlimited Touch. Biography Downing enrolled in Erasmus Hall High School in Brookly ...

and

Gwen Guthrie Gwendolyn Guthrie (July 9, 1950 – February 3, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter and pianist who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Peter Tosh, and Madonna, among others, and who wrote songs made f ...

. Jackson's first solo album, ''Gotta Play'' (released October 2000), included guest performances by

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Po ...

and Scott-Heron. Jackson's other credits include work with

Kool and the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/ soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. ...

Janis Siegel Janis Siegel (born July 23, 1952) is an American jazz singer, best known as a member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. Musical career In 1965, Siegel made her recording debut with a group called Young Generation on Red Bird Records. Af ...

(of Manhattan Transfer),

Pete Miser Peter Aaron Ho (born February 3, 1971), known by the stage name Pete Miser, is an American Hip Hop rapper and producer living in New York City. Biography Originally from Portland, Oregon, Miser is involved in the hip-hop scene in the Nort ...

of (Radio Free Brooklyn) on his solo album, ''Camouflage is Relative'',

Alabama 3 Alabama 3 are a British/English musical group founded in Brixton, London in 1995. They are best known for their track " Woke Up This Morning", which was used for the opening credits of the TV series ''The Sopranos''. In the United States, the ...

''MOR'', and

Carl Hancock Rux Carl Hancock Rux () is an American poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, recording artist, journalist, curator and conceptual installation artist working in text, dance, ritualized performance, audio, video, and photography. Described in the NY T ...

(''Homeostasis''). In 2022, Brian Jackson released his first solo album in over 20 years, ''This Is Brian Jackson''. It was produced by Phenomenal Handclap Band founder Daniel Collás and released on

BBE Music Barely Breaking Even (BBE) is a British record label started by two DJs, Peter Adarkwah and Ben Jolly. The name BBE comes from The Universal Robot Band's 1982 track "Barely Breaking Even". It has two sublabels: Deep Funk, and Urban Theory. B ...

Discography

with Gil Scott-Heron

*''

'' (1971) Flying Dutchman *''

'' (1972) Flying Dutchman

Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson

Albums

*''

'' (1974), Strata East - Billboard Jazz #6 *''

The First Minute of a New Day ''The First Minute of a New Day'' is an album by American vocalist Gil Scott-Heron, keyboardist Brian Jackson, and the Midnight Band—an eight-piece musical ensemble. It was released in January 1975 on Arista Records. Recording sessions for the a ...

'' (1975),

Arista Arista may refer to: Organizations *Arista Networks, a software defined networking company *Arista Records, an American record label, division of Sony Music **Arista Nashville, a record label specializing in country music *Arista (honor society) ...

- Billboard Jazz #5, R&B #8 *''

From South Africa to South Carolina ''From South Africa to South Carolina'' is a studio album by the American vocalist Gil Scott-Heron and the keyboardist Brian Jackson. It was released in November 1975 by Arista Records. Scott-Heron performed "Johannesburg" and "A Lovely Day" on ' ...

'' (1975), Arista - Billboard Jazz #12, R&B #28 *'' It's Your World'' (live) (1976), Arista - Billboard Jazz #20, R&B #34 *''

Bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

'' (1977), Arista - Billboard Jazz #16 *''

Secrets Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

'' (1978), Arista - Billboard Jazz #3, R&B #10 *''

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Syst ...

'' (1980), Arista - Billboard Jazz #7, R&B #22

Singles

*"Ain't No Such Thing as Superman" 7" (1975), Arista *"(What's the Word) Johannesburg" 7" (1975), Arista *"The Bottle" 7" (1976), Arista *"Hello Sunday, Hello Road" 7" (1977), Arista *"Under the Hammer" 7" (1978), Arista *"Angel Dust" 7" (1978), Arista *"Show Bizness" 7" (1978), Arista *"Shut 'Um Down" 7"/12" (1980), Arista *"Willing" 7" (1980), Arista *"The Bottle (drunken mix)" 7"/12" (1980), Inferno

Brian Jackson

*''Gotta Play'' (2000), RMG *''Kentyah Presents: Evolutionary Minded featuring M1, Brian Jackson and the New Midnight Band'' (2013), Motéma *''This Is Brian Jackson'' (2022), BBE

with Kool & The Gang

*''Something Special'' (1981), De-Lite

with Will Downing

*''Will Downing'' (1988), Island/Polygram *''Come Together as One'' (1989), Island/Polygram

with Roy Ayers

*''Drive'' (1988) Ichiban

with Gwen Guthrie

*''Hot Times'' (1990), Reprise

with Alabama 3

*''M.O.R.'' (2007), One Little Indian

with Les Nubians

*''Nü Revolution'' (2011) Shanachie

with Carl Hancock Rux

* ''Homeostasis'' (2013) CD Baby

with Escort

*''City Life'' (2019) Escort Records

with Charnett Moffett

*''Bright New Day'' (2019) Motéma

with
Ali Shaheed Muhammad Ali Shaheed Muhammad (born August 11, 1970) is an American hip hop DJ, record producer, and rapper, best known as a member of A Tribe Called Quest. With Q-Tip and Phife Dawg (and sometimes Jarobi White), the group released five studio albums ...
and
Adrian Younge Adrian Younge (born May 7, 1978) is an American composer, arranger and music producer based in the Los Angeles area. Background Younge grew up in Fontana, California. His father is a lawyer and Younge himself earned a Juris Doctor degree fro ...

*''Jazz Is Dead 8'' (2021) Jazz Is Dead

References

External links

* – official website *
Brian Jackson
at MySpace
Brian Jackson
interview at Underyourskin {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Brian 1952 births Living people American multi-instrumentalists Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni African-American male singer-songwriters American jazz keyboardists Musicians from Brooklyn Strata-East Records artists Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Erasmus Hall High School alumni Jazz musicians from New York (state) 21st-century African-American male singers 20th-century African-American male singers